I joined the Adler faculty in October 2004 and chose to teach here because educating clinicians and social scientists that care about social justice is exciting, and I believe it will make our world a better place. I aim to train psychologists, who will work in multiple roles and various contexts as “local clinical scientists” in all that they do professionally. In my opinion, psychologists have a responsibility to attend to issues of social justice and to be politically active with the goal of affecting meaningful change both in and out of the psychotherapy office.

My teaching philosophy reflects a sincere personal belief that meaningful graduate education in clinical psychology must challenge traditional assumptions about what a psychologist is and does. Moreover, my mentors instilled in me the belief that graduate education in psychology requires far more than committing information to memory for the purpose of demonstrating mastery of content knowledge on assignments and exams. Therefore, I emphasize the interpersonal context in which teaching and learning occur—and then model for students a spirit of curiosity and systematic inquiry toward the aim of shared learning, analytical thinking, and healthy skepticism. I also try to create opportunities for students to learn from and teach one another. In the classroom, it is my aim to provoke personal discovery through critical reflection and to promote community-based praxis as a necessary outcome of heightened consciousness. Ultimately, my hope is for students’ education at the Adler School to be a truly transformative experience.

Andersonville Behavioral Health is my north side Chicago clinic where for many years Adler School graduate students have trained in both psychological assessment and psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy. Recently, I began a nonprofit organization, Prevent Depression Chicago, where our community service practicum students have begun to train. At Prevent Depression Chicago, we aim to provide primary and secondary preventive interventions including community-based depression screening, to develop and implement educational campaigns focused on self-care and well-being, and to conduct social science research that addresses the complex vulnerabilities, which place individuals and communities at risk for depression and related conditions.

Lately, I am most interested in research methods that induce community change including phenomenological inquiry, multiple case study, grounded theory, and narrative research. I am also interested in mixed methods research, which integrates both traditional quantitative methods with qualitative design.

Please email or call me (312.662.4352) if you have questions or would like more information.

Education

Psy.D., Clinical Psychology, Illinois School of Professional Psychology